The Border
by Exotonic
Summary: Borders are everywhere...as walls, as lines, as valleys and mountains, or oceans and fire...or marriages, but no border can be harder to cross than the border of friendship. A friendship that could be so much more...
1. Chapter 1

1: Stumped

Outside the sky was ablaze in the evening light.

Swaths of feathery drifts of white spread across the sky, moving swiftly through the windy, autumn skies. From behind a bank of voluptuous clouds shone the sun in a dying, red light.

Laid out in cozy disarray under the fading day was the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The rooftops of the city gleamed dully in the fading light, and all around lights were beginning to switch on, chasing away the coming darkness. Through the thick glass of the Hokage Residence, the cries of children could be heard, playing out and about on the streets.

A man, in his mid-thirties or so, with bright, yellow hair and a set of strange whiskers on his face, rose out of his seat. Dark bags were under his eyes, and the faint beginnings of wrinkles had worked their way onto his face as he yawned. The man went to the window, suddenly nostalgic.

As he looked out over the village, he had the strangest sensation. The sensation was that he could not quite believe time had passed so quickly. Below, a crowd of unruly kids ran amok, spraying up gravel as they ran, yelling and jeering as they passed innocent passerby.

He could still remember when he himself was a kid. Life was always full of adventure, bright noises and fresh sights. His life was full of hardships and difficult obstacles, and yet each became more of a legend with each passing year. And as the years passed, they became to him adventures that he wish he could relive once again. Oh no, he thought, I'm not becoming an old man am I?

Laughing at the idea, he placed all his Hokage garbs on the chair. There was more weight to that it seemed.  
He prepared to return home, where he was sure Himawari would come rushing up to him, all smiles, while Boruto...Well, Boruto had changed a lot since the arrival of the two Otsutsuki members. Once sullen and distant, he became closer and more talkative.

And the man could not be more relieved.

It had been so very difficult to talk to Boruto, and he could see his son struggling internally, growing distant all the while, but the man was each time stolen away to attend to some Hokage duty. Once upon a time the thought of descending would've horrified him, but more and more these days it seemed to dwell in his mind. Constantly, he was sacrificing time with family and friends for the village, and noble as it was, he felt all the more alone.

Loneliness was a familiar companion, but it was no companion he wanted again.

Despite feeling this way, he felt he needed a few moments of space. A few moments of space from what he didn't know, but he felt a short walk would do him good.

Grabbing what he needed, the man left his office, cautiously skirting the high towers of paper that never went down no matter how long he worked.

Outside, a cool, swift breeze blew by, ruffling his hair and bringing his senses to life. The musty office was always still and silent, and rarely would he take a break from sitting.

He performed a quick jutsu to disguise himself. His clones are frequently seen across the city, but still people would sometimes try to stop and talk to one. As much as he liked to chat with them, he found that most of the time they asked the same age-old questions again and again. He was much too tired today for their rigorous interrogations and/or demands.

As he walked, he had a few clones scattered about the city, rushing about dealing with some matter or other. It was hard to describe the sensation of multi-tasking this way, but it was no easy thing to master.

A few minutes in, he suddenly felt a familiar presence approaching fast.

Without a moment's uncertainty he spun around, blocking them from above and reached up with his other hand to seize them by the neck, but before he could the assaulter spirited away like smoke.

"Why'd you do that?" The man addressed the dark figure some distance away.

"There has to be someone who makes sure the Hokage is still in shape." The figure responded, "Especially with you, Naruto."

"And what does that mean, eh?" The whiskered man asked indignantly, squinting his eyes in suspicion.

"Means that you look like you haven't slept in a long time."

Naruto laughed. "Some sleep loss is no big deal." He looked to his companion, "Hmm, is the unfeeling Sasuke concerned?"

Sasuke closed his eyes in rebuttal. "...usuratonkachi."

The whiskered man only smiled. And in unspoken agreement they began to walk together. "How's Sakura and Sarada these days?", he asked, feeling guilty he has not spoken to them in a long while.

"Sakura is wishing I'd be home more often, and Sarada...I believe she is alright."

"You believe?" Naruto had asked incredulously, but inside he knew just the feeling of excluded from his children's lives, as well as his own wife's subtlety hidden longing. Over the years, he'd become more attuned to the feelings of others, especially with Hinata, who would so usually hide her troubles.

"Sarada does not share things so easily." Sasuke replied, face solemn. "Or is it perhaps, I do not ask enough?" He said more to himself than he did with Naruto.

Naruto looked at Sasuke, slightly taken aback by his openness of his thoughts, and could not help but feel empathy. Naruto sighed, scratching his head. "Well, I wouldn't know. I've always left this stuff to Hinata..." He could not help but notice how horrible of a father he sounded. But perhaps that was what he was.

Sasuke appeared to be deep in thought, and Naruto could almost imagine the gears turning inside his mind, analyzing and overthinking things as he usually did. But maybe that was what I've been doing wrong all this time, Naruto thought, Not thinking.

He sighed deeply within his mind. The more he grew older, the less sure he was in himself.

For a while they walked together in silence. The wind had picked up, blowing across the hilltop they were now on, bringing the fresh scent of leaves and rainwater. All before him was the gleaming city, dotted with bright, yellow lights, under a darkening sky. Behind him, the sky was an smooth, velvet dark-blue, wheeling up points of twinkling stars. The swish of distant trees and grass was all around him; the bangs, screams, and shouts of the city overcome by the swooshing wind.

Somewhere from the nose of the Fifth Hokage a bird called.

"Ah! Times like these just makes me want to take a loong nap!" Naruto suddenly exclaimed, throwing himself onto the ground. The grass was soft and springy, and smelled of missions long-past. He clasped his arms behind his head and sighed contently, closing his eyes.

Sasuke sat himself down more civilly, and stared out into the village.

Naruto, meanwhile, was feeling clear-headed for the first time that day, and could not feel more relaxed. He frowned when he saw Sasuke's expression.

"What's wrong, buddy?" He asked. Then, suddenly feeling a rush of mischievousness, he poked at Sasuke. "Eh?" When a response didn't come, he pursed his lips in frustration. Then a sudden bright idea came into his mind. Naruto pretended to give up, then with the speed of a striking cobra he surged up to tickle Sasuke.

Before his hand was even a foot close, he felt his arm being twisted and pinned behind his back, his face pressed into the ground.

"Okay! Okay! I give!" Naruto said, voice muffled.

Sasuke released him.

Grumbling to himself, Naruto folded his arms and looked away, disgruntled.

Bemused, Sasuke couldn't help but tease, "I thought you were supposed to be Hokage... usuratonkachi."

"Whatever...I'll get you back somehow."

For a few minutes neither said anything, and Naruto laid back down at ease, intent to enjoy the night breeze even with the annoying show-off beside him. The sun was now below the horizon, a thin, glowing bar of wavering red at the border between sky and earth to signal its demise. A chorus of crickets rose up to greet the night.

"Naruto?"

"...Hmm?" He answered sleepily, mind half gone in dreamland.

Sasuke seemed to hesitate. In the depths of Naruto's subconscious he realized this was strange. Sasuke never hesitated. "What is it?" Naruto asked, slowly sitting up.

He turned to face him, shoulders tensed. What is it? Naruto wondered nervously, A threat? An unknown enemy?

Once Sasuke caught Naruto's concerned gaze, he looked away. A few moments of silence between them passed. The voice of the crickets got louder. "...No, its nothing." He said.

Baffled, Naruto pressed him. "Nothing? What do you mean?"

Whatever remained of his discomfort vanished under a pale mask. The moonlight hid his face in shadow. "Nothing. It is not important."

Naruto glanced at his strangely behaving friend. "Well, alright. If you say so." He looked down. Now that he was a bit more emotionally intelligent, he ventured onward, onto foreign territory. "You know, Sasuke, you don't have to only talk to me when the world's ending..." Naruto swallowed nervously. Sasuke didn't move. "Well I mean...I don't want to hear about the down nasty between you and Sakura-"

Sasuke snapped his head up, nearly rolling his eyes in exasperation.

Naruto laughed, scratching at his head in apology, good-humored. "Yeah, whatever, you get the idea." He glanced over at his dark-haired friend, and noticed his forehead was still scrunched with uncertainty. For a moment Naruto didn't know what more to do. He hated to see people distressed in any way, especially his friends, the people who would actually be friends with a loser like him.

"Look," Naruto said, pointing at the stars, "Aren't they beautiful?"

"...What is the meaning of this?" Sasuke asked incredulous.

Naruto sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Just hear me out." He propped himself up on an elbow. "There are so many of them, don't you see? All over the place, countless, innumerable stars. And they're all alone. Each one surrounded in a sea of emptiness..." Naruto drifted off, "Well, at least that's what most people think."

Sasuke glanced at him in confusion.

"Most of them are actually in pairs." Naruto began again. "Each one has a buddy circling with them in the darkness. Someone to accompany them in their lonely, lonely journey through the skies." He moved his hand in a semi-circular motion, tracing a line across the sky. "And so they continue with each other for a long, long time." Naruto smiled, "Best buddies forever, eh?" He sat up and offered two fingers, "And that's how I see us!" Naruto rubbed a hand against his hair, laughing to disperse his own awkwardness. "At least, I hope you do too!"

Sasuke's face was hidden by his long dark hair, and for a long while he said nothing. A gentle wind passed between them nearly revealing Sasuke's other eye he liked to hide so often.

Eventually, he grasped Naruto's hand with his own fingers.

"Sure." He said,  
"Always."


	2. Chapter 2

2: Promise

The morning dawned clear and sharp.

From an open window a gentle breeze poured in bringing tell of rain soon to come. Careful not to disturb Sakura, Sasuke rose out from his bed, and quiet as a mouse, dressed himself and leaped through the window, disturbing not a single speck of dust.

Grey mist floated amidst the sleeping houses in torn, raggedy banks, parting as Sasuke flew past. The sky above was blue and cold. The scuffle of early feet meandered around the alleys, but Sasuke was but a fleeting ghost.

In the distance he spotted the Hokage Residence.

He headed swiftly towards the village entrance, flitting past the walls undetected by the wall's watching ninja. Amidst the trees it was dim, yet shafts of light from the breaking clouds above shone through in parts, illuminating patches of green. Glittering beads of dew sprung into the air as Sasuke zipped past; only a shadow among the trees.

Every day Sasuke would venture out of the village and do a quick surveillance of the nearby territories. Or perhaps he only did so because he could never feel quite at ease in the village. He felt the history of his life follow him wherever he went, in the eyes of whoever he met. But he could care less. The real concern in his heart would how it would affect Sakura and his daughter, Sarada. But then he smiled, Sarada was like her mother in her fierce stubbornness, but still calm like himself. There was nothing to worry about with either of them.

Once he felt he was far enough, Sasuke stopped and landed softly on the forest floor. The sounds of life were all about him.  
A murder of crows cawed distantly, arguing in their hoarse calls. A thousand melodies of a thousand birds filled the air with their high-pitched voices, courting for mates. Armies of stamping, buzzing, cricketing, and beating insects vibrated all around him, their efforts mingling with the croaks of hidden toads. Spring was in the air. As well as the lust.  
Sasuke strolled beneath the green eaves.

He had always been a deep thinker, but when he was young he had a purpose. A purpose to kill Itachi, his brother. Then it was to become Hokage. And then it was to live a life to redeem himself from all that he'd done.

And now he wondered how redemption and evil could be measured. Has he redeemed himself? Or has he not? If he has not, then how much longer? Forever?

After a while of walking, he reflected on last night.

Naruto is such a strange man, He thought. How could someone be so burdened, yet still so carefree? Sasuke remembered his smiles, still bright even at night. They'd made a promise to be friends forever basically. And that had filled him with something warm and fuzzy, dare he say it. But it was warm. It was a closeness he'd felt with his brother and young Sarada, but no one since, except Naruto. Is that strange?, Sasuke thought.

Sasuke crossed over to a tree, leaning himself against it. A chilly wind swept the boughs ahead.  
Am I supposed to feel that way with Sakura?, He questioned grimly. He'd wanted to tell Naruto his feeling of disconnection to his family, but felt the issue shrivel to dust on his tongue when he saw Naruto's gaze. No doubt he'd been expecting a state of the nation matter. Such things-

Branches from above snapped.

A bird above him cut off mid-song.

Sasuke launched away, just as he heard a great boom from the spot he stood moments before. A great plume of dirt exploded from the site, engulfing Sasuke. Shadows moved in the dust.

As he flew past a tree, he grasped at its rough bough and flung himself high into the sky, out of the brown cloud. Trails of dirt followed him.

The forest stretched out below him and out as far as the eye could see. The sky was clear, and the village gleamed in the daylight behind him. His mind was afire and his eyes locked to the swirling cloud.

Seconds passed, and still no one had appeared from the settling dirt. He looked all about him: above, left, right, below. But still there was no movement. The sun shone warmly down, and soon the cloud was gone, nothing but a gaping hole in the forest below as evidence.

Sasuke landed some distance away, wary. The forest was silent.

He approached the sight, every muscle tensed for danger, every sense on high alert. He hid his presence.

Through the rows of trees he spotted the crash site. But there was nothing. Nothing at all to indicate what had made the landing.

Sasuke reached the rim of the crater and looked down. Nothing.

He let no expression show on his face.

Sasuke cautiously slid down and reached the center. Nothing.

A few seconds passed.

Something clicked.

A single, huge, black shard shot out from the earth, and impaled Sasuke through his still-beating heart. He went up in white clouds, revealing merely an impaled log.

The real Sasuke scanned the scene. But still there was nothing amiss.

Then he noticed the shard was encasing something. A scroll.

And it seemed to be that the shard knew Sasuke had seen it, for then it broke into a thousand black, glittering fragments. The log tumbled off and rolled a distance away.

The scroll lay closed in the pit.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Family Life

As Naruto walked through the door, the first thing he noticed was a mess of cut string all over the floor. Before he could make sense of it he was immediately besieged by Himawari. Shouting excitedly she grasped at his robes, all smiles.

"Daddy! Guess what?" She squealed, barely containing back a grin.

Pleasantly surprised, Naruto went down to Himawari's eye level,

"What? Did Mommy buy you another toy?"

"No...", Himawari glanced down, hurt. "Doesn't Daddy remember?"

Just then Hinata, Naruto's wife, strolled into the foyer about to say a greeting when she caught Naruto's panicked gaze. As Himawari was building up a flood of heartfelt tears, Naruto silently mouthed help me, shrugging helplessly.

Hinata pressed a mouth over her tugging smile and pointed at her teeth. Lost tooth, she replied just as stealthily.

"Ah, no I remember, Himawari~. You lost your tooth, didn't you?" Naruto said, patting her head reassuringly.

Lighting up suddenly like a lamp, she performed a small dance around Naruto. Then she proudly pulled out a white, knobbly stub from her pocket.

"Yay! Daddy remembered!"

Just as she was about to ask for some 'wind-ball' time, Hinata broke in with her usual soft voice,

"Why don't you go play somewhere else, honey? You have to hide your tooth for the tooth fairy remember?"

"Oh that's right!" Himawari said, blue eyes twinkling in new excitement. "I'll hide it somewhere she'll never find it!"

"I thought you want the tooth fairy to find it." Naruto said, head cocked in confusion.  
"I want her to spend so much time finding it that I'll wake up before she leaves, then I'll catch her with my net!" She pointed behind her where a tangled mess of something resembling a net lay. "Then she'll have to give me ALL her money!" She replied with an uncharacteristically sly glint in her eyes. "Hehehe..."

With a swirl of wind, she dashed off, small feet pattering across the floor excited to execute her devious plot.

Naruto could only stare at the spot she once stood, mouth open. Hinata cast a worried glance at where her daughter had run off to. Suddenly, Naruto burst into laughter.

"She'll make a great ninja once she grows up." Naruto said, calming down, wiping tears from his face, half from pride and half from nostalgia. How did the years go by so quickly?

"Just like her father." Hinata said, with a smile, walking towards him. "Anything world-ending today?" She placed a hand on his cheek, worriedly. "You look so worn out everyday."

"I'm fine, Hinata." He said, grabbing her hand, "Coming home makes up for all of it."

"I know its the real you here. I always know." She replied, "But, I can also see a few of your clones still running about the village. Couldn't you ever be here...fully?"

Naruto sighed. "I have to fulfill my duties as Hokage too, Hinata. We've already talked about this."

He guiltily looked away. Increasingly now these days Hinata struggled more against the feeling of emptiness, and he knew it was affecting his kids too. Naruto knew that if he'd been more present with Boruto that many things wouldn't have happened...But since, Naruto worked harder to get home sooner. Yet these days he felt more like old string, fraying at the ends and slowly unraveling.

Hinata seemed to sense his distress,

"Is there something wrong, Naruto?" She asked, face open and as ever optimistic. He hated how he always let down her.

"No." Naruto replied, not wanting to burden his wife with his silly troubles. "How is Boruto?"

Hinata did not quite believe that, judging from the glance she threw him, but she didn't press further. "He's fine. Nowadays he looks happier than I've seen him for a long time." She smiled at him, "I suppose you talking to him more often has helped a lot." She grabbed an elbow with a hand, "I guess he doesn't really need Mom..." She tapered off, pulling off an unconvincing laugh.

"Boruto always needs his mom." Naruto said, "Like I do." He laughed, "I guess we're both not really good with appreciating the most important woman in our lives."

He looked into Hinata's eyes, pale and beautiful like a pearl. "I know ever since I've been Hokage I haven't been present as much. Actually, perhaps not at all for many years. But I'm trying Hinata."

Naruto bent downwards, kissing her on the cheek. "I love you, and Himawari and Boruto too. Believe it."

Hinata's eyes began to waver. "More than ramen?" She quietly asked,

Naruto chuckled, pulling up Hinata's face to look at him. "More than ramen." He agreed. "Even more than Ichiraku's ramen."

"Hmm," Hinata replied, grinning, "Now that's saying something."

Naruto smiled, thinking immoral things.

He leaned in and kissed her.

And he was really getting into the groove until they were both interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Ugh! Gross! Don't do that kind of stuff in here!"

A mop of blonde hair shook in disgust. His face was covered by his hand, and the other waving in distress. "Ah! My eyes, my eyes! They're burning! Help, I was mentally scarred forever!"

He dashed blindly through the kitchen and raced towards his bedroom. "BLEH."

The door slammed shut behind him.

"He didn't take off his shoes," Hinata said, sighing. "And he scared Himawari with a spider earlier. I should probably go lecture him."

Naruto smirked. "Good luck with that." He pecked her forehead.

"And check on Himawari, Naruto. I have a feeling her plan might involve kunai..."

"Where would she get that?"

"I don't even know, but I've found them before..."

"Remind me why we decided to have children." Naruto said, jokingly.

"Ask yourself. It's your fault." Hinata said walking away.

"What? How is it MY fault?" He replied indignantly.

Hinata only continued walking on as if he'd said nothing.

He only tsked and headed towards Himawari's room.

It was dead silent.

Uncharacteristically silent.

A flood of worries and possible danger flooded into his mind.

He crashed into the room uncaring for the door. "Hima-"

A log, ten feet long and five feet wide, ran smack into Naruto's face.

The world went out in a black haze.  



End file.
